Last week, Google revolutionized the search & social sphere with the release of its “+1” button. This button allows users to, in essence, “like” websites while recommending them to friends. This new foray into social search is just what Google needed, and is everything that Business has wanted. It replaces aspects of review sites, social media, and revolutionizes search.
Social Media in a New Place
Google’s +1 will not replace your Facebook account, LinkedIn or MySpace (if for some strange reason you still have an account). Instead, it will work to enhance your contact lists and leverage personal address books to deliver results that make your search results better.
User’s who click on the +1 button are in essence telling their friends, family and co-workers who are in their Google Contacts – or otherwise connected to their Google Profile – that they “like” the webpage. These +1’s are displayed when others search for a key term, and website results are displayed. If a website result is liked by your contact, the social signal will sound and a +1 will appear next to the result. In this way, a +1 is just as good as your friend telling you that they would recommend this site.
This ads a whole new meaning to social, one that is good for business. Now businesses can go back to their roots of close relationships and word-of-mouth marketing. Only this time, the social is mixed with the digital.
The Mini-Review Site is Born
A website with a +1 next to it in search results has been given the stamp of approval by a familiar person. Of course, this is far less feature filled than Yelp or Angie’s list, but provides searchers with a quick and personal review.
By offering users with a quick way of acknowledging which websites are most trusted in their social circles, it gives the searcher a sense of confidence in clicking on and choosing the right business, product, or service. This allows users to find what they are looking for quicker and with a higher reliability.
Without a full-fledged review, searchers can now see which businesses are trusted within their search results. This will greatly benefit companies that have a large following or focus on customer service. These businesses will be better able to leverage their fans to influence others and hopefully grow their amount of clicks and, ultimately, improve their leads and sales.
Search 3.0 is Born
Search 1.0 was a directory listing of various websites. Search 2.0 was computerize results based on natural language and keyword parsing. Now, Search 3.0 integrates the social element into search.
In perhaps the biggest move since Google was first born, they have added yet another variable into their algorithm. This time, it is meant to subsidize their computerize results with real human feedback. With the joint force of computational power and the trust associated with social recommendations, Google is combining both the old and the new to deliver the highest quality search results and recommendations yet.
Businesses and end-users alike should praise this newest edition of search as the perfect combination of social feedback and immediate results. It allows websites to gain visibility and trust and incorporates a meaningful tool into the search experience. The +1 button for websites is already more than just another sharing tool; it is also a recommendation tool and long-lasting search optimization technique. Used correctly and shared often, this button could have the biggest search results impact to date – and help both businesses and users in the process.
Social Search Gets Small Business Back to the Roots
Most small businesses never had the advantage of the digital age. In fact, many today still rely on old fashioned techniques such as word-of-mouth advertising and referrals. With the development of +1, Google has brought these old techniques to the new digital age and revamped the entire social marketing process.
Businesses of all sizes should reach out and quickly embrace this new tool. It will encourage the good, customer-focused businesses to continue in their ways and reward them with greater leads which will ultimately lead to higher sales. The +1 button bridges the gap between old business marketing and new, and interjects a sense of personalization and trust into the process as well. The social search revolution is here. +1 it.
